Taxi drivers in Leicester are demanding a 10 per cent rise in fares, despite city cabs being among the priciest in the East Midlands.Union leaders are calling for the hike because they say the rocketing price of petrol is pushing them out of business.
Kashmir Singh Gill, Leicester and Rutland secretary of the RMT, is to meet council environment chief Robert Wann to discuss the fares.
A league table of tariffs shows that Leicester taxis are already among the priciest in the region, with Nottingham, Derby and Lincoln all cheaper.
In all, 16 areas in the East Midlands have lower fares than Leicester, while just two are more expensive. The figures show that a five-mile daytime journey in Leicester costs £9.40, compared with £6.90 in Northamptonshire.
Coun Wann said: "I had my department do research into our taxi prices compared with other cities. When the meeting goes ahead I will put it to the drivers.
"They do not want to out-price themselves, otherwise people will use minicabs. It's something they are going to have to consider."
But Mr Singh Gill said that he thought a 10 per cent rise was needed to cover the cost of fuel inflation.
Sital Singh Gill, of the Association of Leicester Hackney Carriage Drivers, said the rise needed to be even higher. He said: "It's difficult for taxi drivers to survive. For us inflation is rising at more than 10 per cent. We need to save our businesses."
His association meets on Tuesday to discuss the fare rises.
Mike Ward, chairman of Leicestershire public and private hire association, said he thought a 50p surcharge was needed. He said: "Putting a surcharge on would be flexible. If fuel prices came down then so could the surcharge.
"But a blanket 10 per cent rise would stay in place, regardless of any fluctuations in petrol prices.''
Nationwide, Leicester was 89th most expensive out of 375 districts. Elsewhere in the county, Charnwood was 177th, Hinckley and Bosworth was 184th and north west Leicestershire was 192nd.
Blaby came in 223rd, Melton was 261st and Oadby and Wigston was 292nd.
In the East Midlands, Kettering was 25th, Northampton 27th, Nottingham 146th, Derby 160th and Lincoln 188th.
Outside Leicester railway station yesterday, travellers were not sympathetic to the drivers.
Keith Bell, an insurance underwriter from Oadby, said: "If they are going to put fares up, I would want to make sure that their vehicles are safe."
Karrie Sellings, a 17-year-old administrator, said: "I would not put prices up if I were them. The meters seem to go up even when they are not moving."
More than 250 drivers brought the city centre to a stand-still last month in protests against new vehicle licensing laws, petrol prices and private cabs making illegal pick-ups. Union leaders want a rethink of the licensing policy, which means faulty cabs over eight years old have to be replaced - at a cost of £35,000.
Coun Wann will only negotiate with the RMT, saying it is the only union with a majority of drivers as members.
Source: Leicester Mercury
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